World's Fairs are by their very nature fleeting exhibits, just existing
for a year or two then disappearing. Often the attractions, and even
buildings and fixtures which usually cost quite a bit to create and
develop, are sold after the fair is over. Many times it is amusement and
theme parks which snap up these things at bargain prices giving new life
to what would have otherwise gone to waste.
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AT THE
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AT
JACKSON, NJ |
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World's Fair
Trash Cans
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Enchanted Forest Trash Cans
One of the most unique and plentiful fixtures that was part of the
New York World's Fair was the hundreds of trash cans that were found
all around the grounds. Many of these sleek yet simple trash receptacles
were purchased for Great Adventure's new Enchanted Forest theme park. It is unknown where they were
stored in the years between the end of the fair in 1965 and the opening
of Great Adventure in 1974, but the cans dotted the park for several seasons
before being replaced with more traditional garbage receptacles in 1977.
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Glide-a-Ride Tractor Trains
Glide-a-ride trains run north-south and
east-west across the Fair grounds. White flags (north-south) and
green flags (east-west) distinguish these shuttles from similar trains
for sightseeing. The fare is 25 cents.
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Parking Lot Trams
The original design of Great Adventure
created a wooded divide between the parking lot and Enchanted Forest
theme park. To make the journey to the park entrance guests boarded
trams which carried them over the unpaved parking lot. The fleet of trams employed by Great Adventure in
its earliest
seasons was purchased by Great Adventure from the Fair operators, though where the trams spent
the ensuing years between the end of the Fair and the opening of the
park is a mystery. The low riding profile of the trams proved to
be an issue and were quickly replaced. |
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Swiss Sky Ride
In one of the highest rides at the
Fair, cabins holding four passengers each are suspended on cables 113
feet in the air. The cables run between the Korean and Swiss
pavilions; a one-way trip covers 1,875 feet, takes four minutes and
provides panoramic views not only of the fairgrounds but of Manhattan
Island. Tickets may be purchased at booths near the two pavilions.
Admission: 75 cents one way; cars leave every 12 seconds.
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Sky Ride
The cars and the mechanical station
components of Great Adventure's Skyride were originally the Swiss Sky
Ride at the NY World's Fair. They were purchased by a company that intended
to move them along with other items to Canada, but they were held up at
the border in northern New York where they sat for several years until
Great Adventure purchased them. It is believed that the same company
also purchased equipment from the defunct Freedomland park in the Bronx,
and the Skyride at Great Adventure appears to have been assembled from
the World's Fair components along with the towers from Freedomland. The
Skyride cars served at Great Adventure until the early 1990's when they
were replaced with a newer fleet from Six Flags Great America. The
original station drive and tension bases still operate to this day, more
than 50 years after the New York World's Fair.
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Musik Express
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Musik
Express
Great Adventure's Musik Express ride is also rumored to have come from
the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, though we have never been able to
confirm this. Great Adventure made this claim in an employee newspaper in
1985. As far as we have been able to determine there was no Musik
Express ride at the World's Fair, though many amusement rides were added
to the Fair for the 1965 season as they tried to recoup their
investments. The rides added had little to no documentation or
mentions in the Fair guidebooks and maps which received few updates
between the 1964 and 1965 versions and often omitted things. The
mystery continues.
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